Hanjin will handle the full logistics of the South Korean government's emergency relief shipment to displaced people affected by the earthquake in Venezuela.
The company announced Tuesday it had been selected as the logistics operator for the Korea International Cooperation Agency's project to transport emergency relief supplies to Venezuela earthquake victims, and that it has begun moving the cargo in earnest.
The emergency support project was designed to aid Venezuelan people who lost their homes and have been suffering severely since the earthquake struck in June. Hanjin is responsible for safely and swiftly delivering 500 family tents — drawn from KOICA's emergency relief stockpile — to the disaster zone.
Hanjin is overseeing the entire transport chain: repacking the relief supplies for air freight, handling international air transport and managing cross-border overland delivery at the destination.
The supplies departed Incheon International Airport in early August and are being flown via Canada to Bogota, Colombia, after which they will travel overland by vehicle to the final destination of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
The total distance from Incheon airport to Caracas — combining air and land legs — is 17,500 kilometers, nearly half the circumference of the Earth. Because no direct flight covers the full distance, the route transits Canada and Colombia. The 1,800-kilometer overland stretch from Colombia into Venezuela also requires crossing an international border.
Hanjin secured emergency flights with airlines to split and dispatch the cargo as quickly as possible. Working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the local embassy, the company plans to complete border clearance between Colombia and Venezuela and the overland leg without delay.
"We are honored to contribute to a national-level relief effort through Hanjin's global logistics capabilities," a company official said. "We will spare no effort across every stage of the transport to ensure the relief supplies reach the people of Venezuela quickly and safely."
Meanwhile, Hanjin previously carried out a government-directed shipment of relief supplies to Myanmar earthquake victims in May last year, contributing to South Korea's international standing and support for displaced people there. The company says it is actively engaged in a range of support activities as part of its corporate social responsibility commitments.
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